Posts Tagged ‘Gallé

The appraisal event held on August 22, 2012 brings with it a cautionary tale, but one to learn from nonetheless. A woman from San Leandro brought a vase to be appraised on behalf of her client. Her client bought the vase about fifteen years ago from an antique broker believing it was an authentic Gallé and paid $3,000 for it. One other appraisal had been conducted on the vase since its purchase, deeming it a fake.

Questionable Gallé Vase

Vase signature

The client thought it would be wise to get a second opinion and decided to turn to Michaan’s Auctions. Furniture and Decorations Specialist Elizabeth Dalton was immediately leery of the piece, noticing that the look and color was quite off. Dalton noted the irregular texture, appearing as if it was “impressed with a cheese cloth,” as well as the dye running in multiple places.

Vase texture

Running dye on vase

Dalton then showed the woman comparisons of real Gallé glass works, providing information that would have been valuable to know prior to the purchase. Unfortunately, Dalton believed the true market value of the vase to be around $300-500.